While Jameis Winston appears to be a lock to go No. 1 overall in the NFL draft to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there is less certainty about what will happen with Marcus Mariota.
It is widely accepted that Mariota is the No. 2 quarterback prospect and will likely go in the top 10, possibly as high as No. 2 overall to Tennessee. In fact, The Monday Morning Quarterback’s Peter King says the Titans have been doing a lot of homework on the former Oregon QB.
From King:
The Titans were all over Mariota all through the college season, and beyond. One Oregon source told me the Tennessee scouts were the most fervent of all teams during and after the season investigating Mariota. The one thing the Titans feel very good about: Though Mariota has a reputation of being a running quarterback who would have a tough time adjusting to life as an NFL pocket passer, they saw that the majority of his throws this year came from the pocket, without a lot of movement before the throw.
The team that has been tied to the Titans the most in trade talks has been the Chargers, but King says he does not think San Diego wants to trade Philip Rivers, which they would have to do to move up in the trade. Because of that, he thinks Tennessee is going to end up drafting Mariota second. This runs contrary to previous reports that said the Chargers would be willing to trade Rivers for the No. 2 pick/Mariota. Maybe they are willing to do so, but they do not want to do it.
